I Am Louis XIV - Chapter 529

   Chapter 529 Follow-up to Palermo

At the time of the Great War, Louis XIV recognized the Achilles heel of the Ottoman Turkish army.

  The Ottomans have always relied on faith and tidal forces. This has been the case since the time of Suleiman I, and it has not changed since then. All their tactics revolve around these two. But such an army is destined to be unable to form a cohesive whole, like a huge ant colony. After losing the king who gave the order, they will be at a loss and distracted – because… Ottoman has only one sultan and one voice.

Muhammad IV thought that he could replace the former Grand Vizier, or be better. He may be right, but the most fatal point is that he still has not changed. More correctly, he cannot change. If someone can With the same power as the sultan, the sultan will turn into a cold corpse at any time, and his children will also die.

Muhammad IV went back only because he heard that Istanbul was threatened by rebels. In an era when a battle could last for years, decades, or even half a lifetime, this was not surprising. After returning to Istanbul, quelling the rebellion and then re-entering Sicily, he raised his scepter and continued to command the subsequent battles. The problem is, first of all, Sicily is not as intimidated by his army as he thinks, and the majesty of the sultan does nothing to resist and surrender, they are just like Alberto thought, they lead the beast into the cage Sweet bait.

Because the Federal Kingdom of Italy was established on the premise of the “Tenth Holy War”, if only the Ottomans were expelled from Italy, it is no exaggeration to say that perhaps the larger principalities such as Savoy, Naples and Milan can be After all, it was not that the Ottomans had not invaded the peninsula before, and they eventually retreated after looting—there were reasons for the lack of supplies, and there was an entire Europa relationship behind the peninsula.

Of course, such a victory cannot be balanced with a king’s crown, so from the beginning, the tenth holy war was to cross the Italian mainland, that is to say, they not only drove the Ottomans out, but also severely damaged their armies, killing their sultans, causing chaos, when the Ottomans have no time to look outside, the Genoese will take back their colonies in the Adriatic, the Venetians will take back Greece and Crete, Milan and Naples Deliberately biting off a piece of flesh from this aging behemoth – like Albania.

   And Sicily, even if nothing is gained, at least there is no need to continue to face the threat of the Ottomans.

To say such an idea, someone should have put it forward a long time ago. The Ottomans are first of all pagans, and most of their territory is now plundered from Catholic countries. However, I have to humiliately say that the monarchs of Europa, and even the Church of Rome The master of the Ottoman Empire still has in his heart the deep shadows left by the two brave emperors, Selim I and Suleiman I. The Ottoman Turkish Empire has never stopped its expedition and expansion from the 14th century to the 16th century. Some people mistakenly believe that this ferocious giant elephant still has the power to subvert the world.

Whether it was Leopold I, the Grand Duke of Transylvania, the Pope, the Italians, the Portuguese, or even the French, they all felt that it would be great to be able to beat back the offensive momentum of the Ottoman Turks. An incredible achievement, just as the Sun King’s authority among the kingdoms was finally established in the Great War against the Ottomans.

But as we know, Louis XIV’s thinking is not as constrained by history as the people of this era. In the Great War, he was just unwilling to sacrifice the lives of the French for Leopold I and Austria in vain, but if— He is leading this battle, and he will definitely try to chase after victory, like a group of lions chasing thousands of bison, it looks very risky, but in fact, bison’s huge body, sharp horns, hard hooves— Not matching their minds and nature, they run with great momentum, but that is, they do not pose any direct threat to lions.

  The lion may be trampled by the bison, flying, causing injury or even death, but this is not a change, the bison will not devour the lion, but the lion will always hunt the bison.

  Louis XIV had the heart to make Italy such a lion. Why did they hesitate? It’s just that the Ottomans are still bluffing their past achievements, so all he has to do is to poke a hole in the inflated illusion, so that those people can see that it is just a hollow inside, so that they can puff up Courage to come – now is the time.

According to the agreement, with the help and guidance of spies and wizards, the people of Sicily burned hundreds of thousands of tons of wheat, olive oil and countless military supplies. They had been very docile before, so, The Ottomans who stayed in Sicily were caught off guard. They were completely unprepared and became angry. Some of them started killing and arson before it was dark, while others gathered soldiers and prepared to arrest the local nobles and officials one by one after dawn. Continue to extort taxes and harvests.

   It’s just that they were not prepared, but the Sicilians were.

The soldiers and mercenaries of the Palermo family, together with the people in the city, ran in the streets, ambushed in the alleys, and stood guard in the mansion. The Ottomans were certainly outnumbered by them, but before the sky became bright again, the royal family The blue and gold lily flag was raised in the port.

The Palermo parents, who have been guarding the clock tower, saw the French fleet, and their knees could not help but soften – firstly, he was old, and secondly, he was more than sleepless before, his two sons supported him tightly Stopped him, he leaned on them, heard the rumble of cannons, and when he gasped for a while, when he looked again, the royal blue and milky white, crimson tide was already flowing into the street extending from the pier. alley.

With the addition of the French army, the situation in Palermo immediately tilted towards the Sicilians. The Ottoman soldiers were particularly ferocious when they had the upper hand, and were particularly vulnerable when they were at a disadvantage. As soon as the situation was over, they ran away. .

If this kind of thing happened in France, Louis XIV would have to worry about these broken troops, but since it is in Sicily, ah, the people of Sicily did not start to become sturdy after hundreds of years. Remaining silent and enduring humiliation was not only for the sake of making a promise with friends, but also because the Ottoman Turkish army at that time was indeed not something they could resist.

  ————

   “But father,” the Duke of Colonna couldn’t help asking, “how do you know that Leopold I would deceive Muhammad IV into thinking that our fleet was still in the Atlantic Ocean?”

“If not, how could Mohammed IV be willing to be such a pioneer?” Louis XIV coaxed the little princess who was sitting on his lap with a small wooden boat – not so long ago she was only one of the Duke of Colonna’s Girl, in the future, it would be better to be a county lord, but now she can be called the Anna Maria of Italy with integrity.

The name Anna Maria sounded a bit cumbersome, since the Duke of Colonna was determined to have his daughter take her mother’s name, which is not surprising in Europa – but Louis disapproved, the name Mary from the Virgin Mary, in the symbol of the Virgin Mary. Beautiful and sacred, it also means suffering, so after compromising, the name of the little princess’ mother was added, and it became Anna Maria.

   But the people in the court only called the little princess Lady Maria.

   Until the end of the holy war, the Duke of Colonna was officially crowned King of Italy and crowned his wife, she could not be called the princess for the time being.

   But the day is certainly not too far away. Louis smiled and circled the little girl who kept moving, and let her use her little fingers to fiddle with the boat. Although this boat is a toy, it has sails that can be raised and lowered like a real ship. , with opening muzzles and portholes, as well as real linen cables and mini-anchors.

“Although the Ottomans also had a secret covenant with France before, both sides knew very well that it was just a temporary act of last resort, whether it was the then French kings Francois I and Suleiman I, the current Mohan Muhammad IV attacked Austria not long ago, I was surprised that Leopold I did so, not to mention Muhammad IV, they had no real feelings before, they only used each other, if the Ottomans knew about it , My fleet is almost intact and may appear east of the Mediterranean at any time, and Muhammad IV will not think that his so-called navy can withstand our attack.”

   “Anyway, Leopold I just wanted to deceive him and consume my troops.”

   Duke Colonna couldn’t help showing a look of admiration, “I made you work hard, father.”

There are different opinions about the death of Marie Mancini, the Duchess of Colonna, and it is not that no one wants to sow discord, but they probably don’t know that the love that Louis XIV devoted to his eldest son is extraordinary and heavy- No kidding, real money, territorial titles, Dauphin Louis once said bluntly that he was jealous of Luciano because his father not only gave him what he deserved, but also what he didn’t deserve.

The Duke of Colonna, who can live in the ever-changing and intriguing places of the Tuscan court and the Naples court, is well versed in the tricks in the shadows, and he will not be bewitched by people with ulterior motives. He understands why his half-brother would In this way, let alone an illegitimate child, a father can’t do better even for his own legitimate child.

   And about Marie, Louis never kept a secret from him.

“And now is your test,” said Louis, looking at him, “and you will take your army, not only to drive the Ottomans out, but to take back the lands they plundered from the people of God—this is It will be a long and difficult journey, my boy,” he asked gently but solemnly, “are you ready?”

   “Yes, father, I am ready.” Duke Colonna said seriously.

Louis smiled and was about to continue to say something when he heard a snap. He looked down and saw that the mast of the boat was cut off by the little princess. He hurriedly spread out that little hand, but fortunately there was nothing but a red mark. For other wounds, he handed the boat with its pointed mouth to Grand Duke Anna beside him.

   “Oops, what a pity.”

Although the Grand Duchess lived in the court of Versailles for a period of time and also attended the Women’s College in Paris, she knew that Louis XIV and her husband did not mind that she had her own ideas, but she had no talent in military affairs, so she could only do A respectful and silent listener, the reason for such a sigh is only because the boat is very beautifully made. It is said that it can sail on the water with the clockwork, which is a pity.

   “It doesn’t matter,” the Sun King pulled out the finger that the little princess was biting in his hand: “Lovely little Anna Maria, when you are an adult, I will send you a real big ship.”

   (end of this chapter)